


endless road to rediscover

by weatheredlaw



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Brother Feels, F/M, First Kiss, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-15 23:12:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9262922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weatheredlaw/pseuds/weatheredlaw
Summary: Newt Scamander isin her apartment. His brother isin her not-really-an-office. She stands. “You should come stay with me.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> someone wrote that newt's the reason hogwarts has a squid and _i believe it_ so i wrote this story because i am unapologetically theseus's scamander's biggest fan.

As promised, Newt Scamander does eventually return, a little over a year later, his book tucked away, fresh from the presses.

“An advance copy,” Tina says, running a hand over the cover. “You…you didn’t have to—”

“I wanted to,” he says, and gives her a smile. “This one’s a bit different than all the others,” he adds. “I removed the dedication. I…well. This one is for you, so.” Newt looks at his shoes, then back to her. “Anyway. I should check in at the Pegasus—”

“Come back to the apartment,” Tina says, folding the book into her arms and against her chest. “For dinner, at least.”

“I couldn’t impose.”

“You wouldn’t be.” Tina puts a hand on his arm. “Please.”

Newt’s cheeks go a soft pink. “Alright,” he says. “If you insist.”

 

* * *

 

There is only one moment of melancholy, when Queenie and Newt share a thought of Jacob and Newt squeezes her hand in comfort – other than that, it is a very enjoyable meal. Newt gives in and has a glass of wine with dessert, loosening his tie and hanging his jacket over the back of the chair. His smile grows broad, and the lines over his brow relax. Tina likes him this way.

“I had a letter drafted, you know. After I heard of the escape, but…my brother advised against it. I take his advice in those matters.”

Tina tips her head. “What does your brother do?”

“He’s an auror, actually. Currently in charge of tracking down Grindelwald.”

“I haven’t…he hasn’t written—”

“He did, actually.” Newt takes a sip of his wine. “To Graves, when he was…not himself. I haven’t actually _seen_ Theseus in more than a year, he’s been very hard at work on his own project obviously. I’m sure you’ll be hearing from him a bit more often. He’s trying,” Newt adds, and seems a little wistful now, mouth turned into a crooked smile.

“You miss your brother,” Queenie says.

“Yes. Very much.”

“He was in the war, before this. They called him a hero.”

Tina gives her sister a look. “ _Queenie._ ”

“No, it’s alright.” Newt looks between them. “She isn’t wrong. Theseus and I are quite close. I…well, I wish I was helping him, honestly. But the Minister won’t approve my involvement.”

“And your mother would have a fit.”

“Yes, that as well.”

Queenie frowns, resting her chin in her hand. “You don’t hear from him much.”

“It’s very hard to write letters when one is trying to be covert, I suspect.”

“You wish you did, though.”

Newt looks at her, and Tina sees quite clearly the gentle, peeling ache that rests just under the trembling bravado and carefully crafted image he maintains.

“I wish a lot of things, where my brother is concerned. Letters are quite honestly the least of my concerns.”

 

* * *

 

Tina leaves in the morning before Newt is awake, having reluctantly taken the guest room the night before. Queenie hasn’t left yet, but she gives her sister a wink as Tina goes, earning a hard eye roll before the door closes behind her.

At headquarters, Tina’s desk is nearly buried in paperwork she’s been putting off until today. She digs into it, descending into the muck of red tape and annotations for quite some time, before someone clears their throat, _hard_ , and Tina comes up for air.

“Mr. Graves.”

He leans gently on a dark wood cane, looking between her papers and her rather glazed expression. “Goldstein.”

“Sir.” She stands, but he holds up a hand and she relaxes. “Is there something you needed?”

“In a way.” He gestures for her to follow. “I’ve been speaking with the British Ministry liaison to the Grindelwald case this morning. Nice fellow. Rather chipper for my tastes.” They turn down the hall and toward his office. “Frankly, I’m not interested in touching this whole thing with an sixty-foot broomstick, so I’m giving you lead on this. You just…let me know the important details. I’ll let you know when I’d like to talk about it.” Graves glances at her. “You understand me, Goldstein?”

“I do, sir.”

He sighs. “Dispense with the _sir’s_ , Tina. I think you and I are a step beyond that.”

“Of course.”

Graves nods and opens the door to his office, extending his arm. “Tina Goldstein, please meet Theseus Scamander. He’s the Minister’s point man on this whole…situation.”

Tina balks, for only a moment, before she straightens up and extends a hand. “Mr. Scamander.”

Theseus stands, smoothing down his jacket and giving her hand a firm squeeze. He’s darker complected than Newt, though still as tall and lanky, with a smattering of freckles across his nose. The ears are the same, but his face is different in little ways – a larger nose, more pronounced chin.

The same eyes, she thinks, right before she realizes she’s staring.

“Sorry,” she says.

“It’s quite alright. Meeting my brother _before_ me often does that to people.” He looks at Graves. “Shall we leave you?”

“Please.”

“Excellent.” Theseus gestures for Tina to lead the way. Once the door to Percival’s office is closed, he says quietly, “Can we do this somewhere else?”

Tina nods, leading him down the hall toward her desk. “I don’t have an office of my own, but—”

“It’s not a secret, and it won’t take long. Frankly, I could be out of here tonight, but I am _exhausted_ , and I thought I might get a bit of rest on the Ministry’s dime.”

“Understandable.” Tina looks at her train wreck of a desk when they get to it and sighs. “I’m very sorry.”

“Oh, please. I’m sure my own has _buckled_ in my absence. My poor secretary will be getting a hefty Christmas bonus this season.” He gives a little groan as he descends into her tiny spare chair in front of her desk. “Now. Let’s talk about what you _know_ , Tina.”

“Not a lot.”

“I take it our friend wasn’t a very big talker while he was in custody?”

“Almost completely silent.”

“Considering how much of a _show_ he likes to put on, that always surprises me.”

Tina shrugs. “I felt the same way. But I didn’t expect him to stay. Madame Picquery is a capable woman, but Grindelwald is…”

“He’s a different sort of beast, as my little brother would say.” Theseus leans back. “He wrote me about you. About the whole situation, in fact. Good on you, for picking him up.”

“That was…I was just—”

“Doing your job while my brother was wandering about _flagrantly_ violating the Statute of Secrecy. Oh don’t _worry_ ,” he says, waving a hand. “I’ve known Newt his entire life. Flagrant violations of rules and regulations are his forte. You simply had the upper hand. _Now._ If you don’t mind, I’d like to call this arbitrary visit to an end. Please send a copy of your report to the Minister, add any conversational flourishes you’d like, and tell him that, unfortunately, no further information regarding the whereabouts of one Gellert Grindelwald could be found in New York and this entire visit was an _enormous_ waste of my time.”

Tina blinks. “…What?”

Theseus sighs. “I’m only here because Fawley is grasping at _straws_ , Goldstein. He’s trying to make it look like he’s very busy taking all this _very_ seriously, when he doesn’t feel that way at all. I’m a cautionary measure, and while I am quite convinced that Grindelwald is going to try starting a bloody _war_ for the mere sake of it, my former mentor and good friend does not agree with me.”

Tina frowns. “How can the Minister _not_ —”

“Who the _hell_ knows,” Theseus mutters, standing and stretching. “Where can a man stay for a decent price around here? Don’t want to go too extravagant or they’ll be onto me.”

“Um. The Pegasus.”

“Ah, Newt mentioned it.”

“Right, he—” Tina stops. _Newt._ Newt Scamander is _in her apartment_. His brother is _in her not-really-an-office._ She stands. “You should come stay with me.”

Theseus _snorts._ “What?”

“Me and my sister,” she corrects. “Newt did, the last time he was here.”

“Under unique circumstances, from what I understand.”

“Well, we’re…friends. Now. So that makes you and I friends.” She nearly slaps herself – never before has she sounded so simultaneously _stupid_ and desperate all at once. The man probably thinks she’s –

“Alright.” Theseus picks up his jacket. “Just for a night then, yes?”

“Um. Yes, just the one.”

He nods. “Lead the way then, Ms. Goldstein. I’d love to get to know you a bit better. Honestly, if Graves is giving you point on all this, you and I are probably about to become _pen pals_ , though I use the term loosely.” He gives her a smile. “I’m terrible at letter writing, just ask my brother.”

 

* * *

 

Tina explains to him the situation about Mrs. Esposito, but Theseus is quiet and understanding as they silently make their way up the stairs and she unlocks the door. She motions for him to stay in the hall, for just a moment, and peers inside.

Newt and Queenie are in the kitchen, mumbling about something and shaking their heads, flipping through a book. Queenie looks up when she comes in, gives her the once over and says, suddenly, “Oh, you _didn’t_.”

“Um. I did.” She pushes the door open wider, and Theseus steps in after her.

Newt drops everything onto the counter. “ _Theseus._ ”

His brother looks up, thoroughly flummoxed, before he seems to understand. “ _Newt!_ ”

They embrace one another, laughing and trying to understand.

“Where’ve you been?”

“Where have _you_ been?”

“I was in Belize—”

“I was stuck in _Bulgaria_ , it was awful—”

“You didn’t answer my last letter—”

“You didn’t _tell me_ you’d be here—”

Newt grasps Theseus by the shoulders. “I am so _happy_ to see you.”

Theseus grins. “I’m happy to see you, too, Newton.”

“Ass.”

“Ah, but you love it.”

Newt looks at Tina. “Where did you find him?”

“Graves sent him to me.”

Theseus gestures toward Tina. “She’s got point on this one. About to become my new best friend.”

“How wonderful,” Newt murmurs, face still split into a wide, trembling grin. “How _wonderful._ ”

 

* * *

 

“So our parents had decided to go skiing, which was just as well honestly, because Newt was being _very_ suspicious about his holiday plans.”

“I was _not_ ,” Newt mutters.

“He was,” Theseus says. “Anyhow, I figured I would go to Hogwarts, stay with my little brother, enjoy the grounds and then head back to the Ministry. Of course I get there, and Newt _immediately_ drags me upstairs, locks the door of his dormitory and says, _I have a problem._ ”

Newt buries his face in his hands. “Oh, it was a _mess_ , I remember this.”

“How could you _ever_ forget it?” He looks at Tina and Queenie. “He shows me this _tank_ under his bed, and it’s got a _bloody_ squid in it. And apparently it’s growing.”

“I was _told_ it wouldn’t do that.”

“By _who?_ ”

“A…contact. I bought it in Hogsmeade,” he says, like this explains anything. “The point is I was lied to.”

“Yes, how awful for you.” Theseus gives Newt a shove. “So we go find the only person in the whole bloody school who trusts Newt, which is Dumbledore, and we tell him we’ve got this squid. Dumbledore doesn’t even _blink_ , by the way. He’s not surprised even a _little_ that my brother is keeping illegally acquired creatures under his _bed._ He just says, _what are you going to do with it?_ ”

Newt says, “Good man, Dumbledore,” and raises his glass before taking a drink.

“Here, here.” Theseus follows suit. “So we’re brainstorming, and Newt says, _oh, we could put it in the lake._ We have a beautiful lake on the Hogwarts grounds. Anyway, Dumbledore thinks about that and says, yeah alright, good idea, but first let me check with the mermaids.”

Newt snorts. “Oh, _bloody hell._ ”

“And Newt’s face goes _beet red_ and he just starts _shouting_ , ‘I knew it, I knew there were mermaids in that lake! I’m going to win a hundred and _fifty_ galleons!’”

“I _did_ know!” he says, gesturing wildly. “I knew there were!”

“Who the hell gave you _a hundred and fifty galleons?_ ”

“Elliot Potter.”

“I can’t believe he had it.”

“Well, he didn’t after that,” Newt says, rather smugly. His cheeks are a deep, happy red, and he grins a bit wildly at Tina.

She feels her neck grow hot, and for the rest of the night they play this game – look up, look down, until she feels his gaze drop to her mouth, and Tina turns away.

 

* * *

 

Theseus goes to bed on the sofa, snoring softly as Tina passes him by to make her way to the balcony. Newt is there, nursing another glass of scotch, watching the city lights. He’s silent as she joins him, before turning to her and saying very quietly, “Thank you, for bringing him here.”

“I couldn’t _keep_ him from you,” she murmurs. “Knowing you were both here and you missed him so much. Besides, if I couldn’t see Queenie for more than a year…”

“You understand,” Newt says before tossing back his drink. He taps the glass with his wand and it disappears. “But I appreciate it, all the same.”

“Of course.”

He turns to her. “You’re really…you’re rather fantastic, did you know that?”

“I’m really not.”

“No, you _are_.” Newt shakes his head. “You’re strong, you’re clever, you’re very beautiful—” He stops.

“Maybe that was one scotch too many,” Tina says, staring at the road.

“No,” he says, and reaches out to cup her cheek, turning her gaze to him. “It was just enough.” Newt steps closer. “May I…that is to say, I wanted to know if I could…” He closes his eyes for a moment before opening them on her again. “Can I kiss you, Tina?”

Tina swallows. She reaches up and grasps his hand in hers, holding it closer to her cheek.

“Yes,” she says, and meets him in the middle.

It is a warm, slow thing, like the scotch she can still taste on his tongue. Newt envelops her, embraces her completely, shielding her from the chill of the night and tangling his fingers in her hair. Tina sighs into his mouth, tongue and teeth knocking together, warming her from the inside out.

Newt finally draws back, eyes lidded and breathing labored. “…Thank you,” he says softly.

“You’re welcome.”

“I should…go to bed. Theseus needs to be awake in the morning, and I want to see him off.”

“You’ll say goodbye before you go yourself—”

“I plan to stay a few more days, but my brother is…a fair bit more important than me.”

Tina shakes her head. “Not true.” She kisses him. “Not in this house.”

“Well. That’s very sweet of you to say,” Newt murmurs, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Goodnight, Tina.”

“Goodnight, Newt.”

 

* * *

 

_Tina—_

_Thank you for your hospitality, and thank you more for the way you’ve managed to pry my little brother out of his proverbial shell. I suspect Newt will always be bit of an oyster to the world, but there’s something in there to have at, and I don’t often get to see it. You seem to be quite capable of drawing that out._

_Thank you also for your tremendous cleverness. Grindelwald is an unknown. I’m off to get some backstory in that regards, but we’re going to need cleverness in the upcoming fight. I am certain we can get that from you. Please tell your sister I quite enjoyed my meal last night, and my dessert most of all. Tell her also not to be discouraged – I have heard of quite a number of supposedly “impossible” things happening. Last night my brother laughed – and honestly, it’s been months since I heard anyone do that. And I thought that was going to become impossible, too._

_I will write as often as I can. Keep your eyes open, and your ear to the ground. We don’t know when or where Grindelwald will strike again, but I can guarantee it will be where we don’t expect it, as he seems to be that sort. Bloody bastard._

_Again, I appreciate your kindness, more than I can really say. And above all, I appreciate you for giving my brother a good snog, as he’s honestly wound so tight, he could fix clocks._

_Best,_

_Theseus_


End file.
